House Republican Press Release

February 20, 2007

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Rep. Burns Appointed to Leadership Position on Appropriations Committee

Named House Ranking Member on Appropriations’ Human Services Subcommittee

State Representative Ron Burns, R-77^th District, has been appointed as the House Ranking Member (Republican Leader) on the Human Services Subcommittee of the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, state Representative Kevin M. DelGobbo, R-70^th District, the House Ranking Member on the Appropriations Committee, announced today.

Representative Burns also was appointed to the committee’s Health & Hospitals and Elementary & Secondary Education subcommittees, Representative DelGobbo said.

“All funding proposals for state programs designed to help the less fortunate will be considered by the Human Services Subcommittee before being considered by the full committee,” Representative Burns said. “As the Republican Leader on the Human Services Subcommittee, I will be critically reviewing current and proposed programs to ensure that they are actually helping people who need assistance most and achieve the goals they set out to accomplish.”

“As a state legislator whose community hosts one of the finest hospitals in the state, I was pleased to be appointed to the Health & Hospitals Subcommittee,” Representative Burns said. “I will carefully scrutinize any proposals that could increase the financial burden on facilities such as Bristol Hospital, which serve hundreds of uninsured people every week. We should be helping to safeguard the financial health of all hospitals in our part of the state by doing what we can to ensure the responsibility for caring for the uninsured is shared equally.”

“As a member of the General Assembly’s Education Committee and a legislator who is concerned about fostering academic excellence in our public schools, I can make a valuable contribution to the work of the Elementary & Secondary Schools Subcommittee,” Representative Burns said. “The Governor has proposed several measures designed to improve the quality of education in our state. The Elementary & Secondary Schools Subcommittee will be considering proposals that will significantly increase spending on our public schools this year. My subcommittee’s challenge will be to ensure that scarce taxpayer dollars will result in our school children mastering the skills they need to succeed in the workplace or to continue their education at an institution of higher learning.”